Plasma display panels (PDPs) for televisions and other applications create an image by discharging gas plasma, which, in combination with coated phosphorous layers, generates light having desirable characteristics. Relative to conventional cathode ray tubes, plasma display panels can have superior display capacity, luminance, and contrast. In plasma display panels, application of a voltage between electrodes creates a discharge of gas plasma, resulting in the emission of ultraviolet (UV) light. The UV emission excites adjacent phosphor materials, resulting in electromagnetic emission of visible light.
Plasma display panels emit electromagnetic radiation having different emission spectra that need to be modified prior to viewing. Optical filters have been used for this purpose. Optical filters can include, for example, a transparent substrate, an antireflective layer on the front surface of the transparent substrate for preventing ambient light reflections, and an electromagnetic wave shield on the rear surface of the transparent substrate.
Many conventional plasma display panel filters that employ multiple polymeric layers are manufactured for use as a filter that is positioned on a viewer's side of a plasma display panel module with an air space between the filter and the module. Such positioning results in several disadvantages, including unwanted reflection at the back of the filter, which can create the need for an additional anti-reflective layer, and the use of additional glass layers, which adds to the overall weight of the unit.
What are needed in the art are plasma display panel filters having, relative to conventional plasma display panel filters, simple and safe multiple layer designs that can be used directly in contact with a plasma display panel module.